Kevin Feige Talks Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers & The Sub-Mariner

Kevin Feige has been talking about the possibility of The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up onscreen, and trying to explain the complicated contract issues that are preventing a Sub-Mariner film from being made.

But we also discussed superhero team-ups, whether or not Hugh Jackman and Vin Diesel have a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the complicated issue of the Sub-Mariner. But first up, Guardians of the Galaxy…

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IGN: When we visited the set, writer-director James Gunn told us that he was given the instruction from on high to make the film’s script ‘More James Gunn.’ What does that mean?

Kevin Feige: There were scenes in his early draft – and you saw a little bit of it today actually. The scene that closed out the 17-minutes today, when Peter Quill says ‘I have a plan…’ That scene was in an early draft. And that scene goes on. Just the five of them, sitting in the circle you see, for eight minutes just talking and bantering back-and-forth. And it’s awesome. It’s great. My recollection is that in one of the early drafts we said ‘This scene is awesome – the whole movie should feel like this scene.’ And he went ‘Oh great, I was nervous about that scene. Because that scene is the most me, and I was afraid that you guys would say ‘Ooh that’s too long. Too much talking’.’ And we said ‘No, that’s great. That’s the movie. These characters.’ And I think that hit him more than I appreciated at the time, as an endorsement of his instincts and style.

IGN: Thanos was mentioned in the footage you just screened, and obviously he’s the big bad in The Avengers. That makes him a common enemy to both parties, so could we see an Avengers-Guardians team-up anytime soon?

Feige: I don’t know. Part of the fun of the comics is that could happen. Any character could interact with any other character because they inhabit the same time period and the same universe. And certainly it is the inclusion of Thanos most specifically that is a declaration to audiences who are paying attention that this is connected to those other universes. Part of the fun is that it could happen someday. I don’t know when that would be. Or maybe I know and I’m not going to tell you!

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IGN: I spoke to Hugh Jackman earlier this year and he said he’d love to see Wolverine join the Avengers and fight the Hulk. Obviously another studio owns the rights to that character, but do you think there would be any chance of you guys doing a deal with Fox and that happening down the line?

Feige: My answer to that question has always been the same, which is when I started at Marvel 14 years ago the notion of us becoming our own studio, becoming more successful than other studios doing this, and bringing The Avengers to the screen, would have seemed like the pipe dream of all pipe dreams. And because we are sitting here talking because this has all happened, I’m not going to rule out anything. It has been unbelievable – the Marvel experience for me in particular over the years, so anything’s possible. But I would say for the immediate future, Fox is very busy building their X-Men universe and redoing the Fantastic Four universe. Sony is well underway with their Spider-Man plans. And we clearly have a long-term vision for the cinematic universe. And thankfully have so many characters and so many possibilities that we don’t find ourselves in a position going ‘Will we ever get these other characters in here because we don’t know what to do.’ There’s lots to do.

IGN: You just broke Hugh Jackman’s heart.

Feige: I told him someday!

IGN: Speaking of big blokes, you’ve got Vin Diesel voicing Groot in this movie. He’s made no secret of his love of comics and Marvel in the past, so do you think we might ever see him playing a live-action superhero?

Feige: Maybe. He really is a force of nature. I was always a fan. But I’ve really grown to respect him and love what he does and what he stands for. So certainly someday. Right now I’m just so happy that the Groot thing worked out and that he’s embraced it in the way that he has. But I think there are any number of places that he could fit in a live-action way. But what he’s given to Groot – I hope – is going to be quite iconic, and a signature part for him and for us.

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IGN: Finally, there were rumours circulating awhile back that Universal and Legendary Pictures were developing a Sub-Mariner movie, but there was also some confusion about who holds the rights to the character. So could Legendary make that movie at this point?

Feige: No.

IGN: So if a film were to happen it would be you guys making it?

Feige: Yes, but it’s slightly more complicated than that. Let’s put it this way – there are entanglements that make it less easy. There are older contracts that still involve other parties that mean we need to work things out before we move forward on it. As opposed to an Iron Man or any of the Avengers or any of the other Marvel characters where we could just put them in.

Guardians of the Galaxy hits UK screens July 31 and elsewhere throughout August.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and desperately wants to see that Hulk/Wolverine battle royale. He can be found talking nonsense on both Twitter and MyIGN.